Mediarecorder Start Failed: -16

So I realize there are many solutions out there for MediaRecorder start errors, however most of them revolve around 'start failed: -19', which has been linked to 'NO_INIT' See comm

Solution 1:

I ran in to this error (-16 on start) and found out it was caused by using an unsupported resolution.

First you have to get the optimal size from the supported sizes

Parameters params = camera.getParameters();
        List<Size> sizes = params.getSupportedPreviewSizes();
        optimalSize = getOptimalPreviewSize(sizes, width, height);
params.setPreviewSize(optimalSize.width, optimalSize.height);

Then make sure you set both preview and video to the same size (if they were different in my experience preview would freeze when video record started):

mediaRecorder.setVideoSize(optimalSize.width, optimalSize.height);

(sample code for getOptimalPreviewSize is from android sdk)

private Size getOptimalPreviewSize(List<Size> sizes, int w, int h){
    finaldouble ASPECT_TOLERANCE = 0.1;
    double targetRatio = (double) w / h;
    if (sizes == null) return null;

    Size optimalSize = null;
    double minDiff = Double.MAX_VALUE;

    int targetHeight = h;

    // Try to find an size match aspect ratio and sizefor (Size size : sizes) {
        double ratio = (double) size.width / size.height;
        if (Math.abs(ratio - targetRatio) > ASPECT_TOLERANCE) continue;
        if (Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight) < minDiff) {
            optimalSize = size;
            minDiff = Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight);
        }
    }

    // Cannot find the one match the aspect ratio, ignore the requirementif (optimalSize == null) {
        minDiff = Double.MAX_VALUE;
        for (Size size : sizes) {
            if (Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight) < minDiff) {
                optimalSize = size;
                minDiff = Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight);
            }
        }
    }
    return optimalSize;
}